Personalised 3D-printed prosthetic limbs and artificial hips are as little as two years away from mainstream use, a technology research company says.

Hospitals will use 3D printing to tailor implants and prosthetics, Gartner said in a paper yesterday. Custom-made implants would be created using data from digitised MRI or CAT scans.

The data from the scans would be used to personalise the patient’s device, for example, to shape a hip implant to fit best with their hip socket and thighbone. Custom-made implants could be printed outside the operating theatre shortly before being implanted.